CONTRIBUTIONS OF HBCUS TO THE GERONTOLOGY FIELD: DISCUSSIONS OF RELIGION, HEALTH DETERMINANTS, AND BLACK AGING

Abstract Health advancements have allowed older adults to a better quality of life. This however, is not equitably translated to the well-being of older Black adults. To bypass this narrative, actions are need to focus on restructuring fragmented systems that perpetuate health inequities and social injustices. This however cannot be the responsibility of one person, community, or institution, but rather a collective obligation of those willing to service the needs of all older adults. This allows us to not only acknowledge the scholarly work aimed at bettering the lives of our aging communities, but also recognizes the contributions of scholars affiliated with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), through research, policy, community interventions, and scholarly practices. To address this progressive movement, this collection of papers not only acknowledges the contributions of HBCUs to the gerontology discipline, but also to the scientific advancement focusing on the health and well-being of older Black adults. Speaker one will discuss the biopsychosocial determinants of cognitive function of older Black adults. Our second speaker will focus on religious coping and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among older Black individuals. Speaker three will highlight SDoH among older adults within Caribbean societies. The final speaker will discuss the impact and contributions of HBCU’s on an ’aging’ society through data analysis of demographic patterns and historical factors from an Afrocentric and Black perspectives. The discussant will tie together these themes and provide recommendations related to education, scholarly research ventures, particularly as it relates to health outcomes, equity, and collaborating with HBCUs. This is a HBCU Collaborative Interest Group Sponsored Symposium.

functioning.Results showed greater neighborhood disorder was associated with worse performance on cognitive tasks (B=-0.417;p<0.001).Results of mediation testing indicated that social cohesion was a significant mediator (B=0.224;p<0.0001).Though sleep quality was not a mediator, better sleep quality was associated with better cognitive functioning (B=0.053;p<0.05).Understanding the contribution of neighborhood disorder, sleep quality, and social cohesion to cognitive functioning will inform neighborhood-level interventions that can buffer cognitive decline in older adults aging in place.

SLEEP AND FREQUENT HOSPITALIZATIONS AT THE END OF LIFE FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DEMENTIA
Karen Klingman, and Suzanne Sullivan, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, United States Older adults near end-of-life (EOL) are at risk for experiencing non-beneficial hospitalizations, negatively impacting their quality of life.Reasons for frequent hospitalizations include poorly managed symptoms of progressing chronic illnesses, many of which are exacerbated by poor sleep, and may differ depending on presence of dementia.This study characterized sleep for groups with and without frequent (two-or-more) hospitalizations in the final year of life using the National Health and Aging Trends Study.A subgroup of persons living with dementia (PLWD) was also explored.Means for difficulty falling asleep, trouble falling back to sleep, and use of sleep medications were compared for groups with and without frequent hospitalizations via one-tailed t-tests.Association between dementia and frequent hospitalizations was explored via Pearson Chi-Square.Individuals at EOL (n=529, 56% female, 68% white non-Hispanic, average age 80-85, 57% PLWD) were included, and 22% had frequent hospitalizations.Among the entire sample, those with frequent hospitalizations had worse sleep (more trouble falling back to sleep, p=.032, Cohens-d=.2).Sleep was also worse for those without dementia, but with frequent hospitalizations (difficulty falling back to sleep, Cohens-d=.3,p=.02) compared to those without frequent hospitalizations.There was no association between frequent hospitalization and presence of dementia (chi-square=.868p=.352).However, the PLWD subgroup had worse sleep than those without dementia (difficulty falling asleep Cohens-d=.15,p=.04; use of sleep medications Cohens-d=.26,p=.002), yet sleep did not differ depending on frequent hospitalizations.These results indicate that further investigation into the relationship between dementia, sleep, and frequent hospitalizations at EOL is warranted.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF HBCUS TO THE GERONTOLOGY FIELD: DISCUSSIONS OF RELIGION, HEALTH DETERMINANTS, AND BLACK AGING
Chair: Tamara Baker Discussant: Tiffany Washington Health advancements have allowed older adults to a better quality of life.This however, is not equitably translated to the well-being of older Black adults.To bypass this narrative, actions are need to focus on restructuring fragmented systems that perpetuate health inequities and social injustices.This however cannot be the responsibility of one person, community, or institution, but rather a collective obligation of those willing to service the needs of all older adults.This allows us to not only acknowledge the scholarly work aimed at bettering the lives of our aging communities, but also recognizes the contributions of scholars affiliated with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), through research, policy, community interventions, and scholarly practices.To address this progressive movement, this collection of papers not only acknowledges the contributions of HBCUs to the gerontology discipline, but also to the scientific advancement focusing on the health and well-being of older Black adults.Speaker one will discuss the biopsychosocial determinants of cognitive function of older Black adults.Our second speaker will focus on religious coping and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among older Black individuals.Speaker three will highlight SDoH among older adults within Caribbean societies.The final speaker will discuss the impact and contributions of HBCU's on an 'aging' society through data analysis of demographic patterns and historical factors from an Afrocentric and Black perspectives.The discussant will tie together these themes and provide recommendations related to education, scholarly research ventures, particularly as it relates to health outcomes, equity, and collaborating with HBCUs.This is a HBCU Collaborative Interest Group Sponsored Symposium.

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION AMONG BLACK OLDER ADULTS Amy Thierry, Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Black older adults in the United States have twice the risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias than their white counterparts.However, there remains a gap in knowledge of which factors may contribute to this disparity as well as mechanisms that either increase or decrease risk for poor cognitive outcomes, specifically in older Black adults.This presentation will highlight recent interdisciplinary population health research on the biopsychosocial determinants of cognitive function among Black adults 65 years and older in the Health and Retirement Study.Using within-group regression analyses, studies examine associations between multiple measures across neighborhood, psychosocial, and biomarker domains with cognitive function, measured by Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status scores (range: 0-35) which captures memory and overall mental status.We find that high neighborhood disorder and low social cohesion were associated with worse cognitive function, especially for more highly educated Black older adults and those living in urban communities.Greater frequency of experiences of everyday discrimination among Black older adults was also related to lower cognitive function.Volunteering and having a high sense of purpose in life were associated with better cognitive function for older Black men and women, while being physical active was associated with increased cognitive function for older Black women.C-reactive protein, a measure of systemic inflammation, was positively associated with cognitive function.Overall, this body of work demonstrates the need to further critically assess both risk and resilience processes underlying cognitive function among older Black adults towards reducing current cognitive health inequities.

"NO FEAR, ALL FAITH": RELIGIOUS COPING AND COVID-19 VACCINE HESITANCY AMONG OLDER AFRICAN AMERICANS
Antonius Skipper, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States While COVID-19 had a devasting impact on many groups across the globe, older African Americans were especially affected by the disproportionate rates of morbidity and mortality associated with the virus.Faced with "double jeopardy" -the nature of being both old and Black -older African Americans were at an increased risk of COVID-19-related infection and death due to their age and factors associated with ethnicity (e.g., access to resources, distrust of healthcare).These risks led many health professionals to prioritize COVID-19 vaccine uptake for older African Americans.However, historically and contemporaneously, African Americans report some of the highest levels of vaccine hesitancy in comparison to other ethnic groups.Many older African Americans use religious coping as a source to alleviate the stress of health threats.Yet, the novelty of COVID-19 contributed to a limited understanding of how and why vaccine hesitant older African Americans used religious coping in response to the pandemic.The present study gathered qualitative data from 22 vaccine hesitant older African Americans to describe the role of religious coping in vaccine hesitancy.Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and inductive coding methods.Analyses identified several salient themes relative to religious coping and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, including (1) No Fear, All Faith, (2) Prayer Protects my Peace, and 3) My Faith Justifies my Hesitance.As vaccine uptake remains important for both older adults and African Americans, implications from this study highlight important considerations for navigating the nexus of religion and health with highly religious populations.

FROM THESE ROOTS: THE ROLE OF HBCUS IN PREPARING THE NATION'S GERONTOLOGISTS FOR AN AGING SOCIETY Terrell Brown, Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi, United States
The aging of the U.S. population is creating an increased need for social workers and other helping professionals with training in gerontology.Estimates indicate that less than 3% of MSW students are enrolled in an aging concentration, as compared to 19% enrolled in children/youth concentrations.The phenomenon of a diverse baby boomer generation joining the ranks of persons age 65 and older has created a plethora of scholarship and curriculum development aimed at readying the aging network for the unprecedented growth of older persons.Social work can make unique contributions to the field of gerontology.This study asserts, however, that social work is not adequately prepared to practice in an increasingly diverse aging society.The social work profession has articulated commitments to acknowledging and affirming how diversity and culture shape the human experience and to developing social workers who can competently